OCZ Reaper HPC DDR2 1066 2 x 2 GB Review

Introduction:

With Windows Vista becoming ever more popular and with the anticipation of the first service pack being released soon, computer users are realizing that the generally accepted sweet spot of 2GB of system memory is just not cutting it anymore. With Vista's increased memory demands, as well as the demands by many of today's games and applications, the average user is finding themselves having to upgrade to a minimum of 4GB of memory. Since DDR3 is still too expensive for most users, companies like OCZ are producing 4GB sets of RAM in high-end DDR2 speeds.

The OCZ Reaper HPC PC2-8500 edition is one such set. A lot of newer motherboards are natively supporting speeds higher than 800MHz, so why stick with the slower speeds? Today we are going to be taking a look at the 4GB PC2-8500 version of the Reaper series, which has a stock clock speed of 1066MHz and timings of 5-5-5-18. Cooling has always been an issue with memory modules, but something that is often lost in the spotlight of CPU and VGA cooling. With overclocking enthusiasts, the standard heatspreader is just not enough anymore.

Closer Look:

The OCZ Reaper HPC memory comes packaged in a blister pack that is very easy to open, unlike many blister packs I've seen where you risk breaking the product. The packaging is the traditional OCZ packaging with the orange and brown color scheme. The back side of the packaging has some information on how the Heat Pipe Conduit works.

The first thing you will notice about the OCZ Reaper HPC PC2-8500 memory is the unique heatspreaders with the heat pipes coming out of the top. These heatspreaders are thick and not flimsy at all. On one side of the heatspreader is an OCZ logo, as well as the information sticker containing the stock speed and timing information. From the top and the side you can see the work that went into designing the heatspreader to dissipate heat off the modules.

Now that we have seen what the OCZ Reapers look like, let's see how well they perform.